Locker.



H. G. ARMSTRONG.

' LocKER.

APPLICATlON FILED MAR. 8| 1915. 1,186,964, Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H.G.AIIIIISTII0NG. l

LOCKER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8. I9I5.

Patented June 13, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,. more particularly UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY er. ARMSTRONG, or TAvLoRvILLE, ILLINoIIs,

ASSIGNOR T0 ARMSTRONG ENGI- NEERING COMPANY, OF TAYLORVILLE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Loom.

i Specification of Letters Patent Patented June 13, 1916.

AppIication led March 8, 1915. Serial No. 13,011.

Toall 'whom t may concer/n Be it vknown that I, HENRY G. ARM- STRONG, a citizen c-f 1the United States, residing" at Taylorville, in the county of Christian and State of Illinois, have ,1nvented certainv new and useful Improvements in Lockers,- of which the following is a description.

My invention belongs to that general class of` devices known as lockers, and relates to an improved locker system, and construction of lockers, for use wherever found applicable. designed to be employed particularly in manufacturing plants, coal mining wash and locker rooms, or gymnasiums, clubs and the like,

for the storing of various articles, particularly clothing and ypersonal effects.

Often the clothes or other `articles maybe.

placed in the locker' in a damp or wet condition,L whichNmayy cause the same to deteriorate or be ruined, or make the same eX- tremely unhealthful if put on, as for example, the next day, or before the same'has had time to thoroughly dry.` 'Often where the clothes or wearing apparel of many per-- sons is gathered together, as in aslocker system, the same may be very unsanitary and promote disease, particularly shouldI one of the locker users develop a contagious dis- It is a well known fact that most ease.

locker rooms are close and poorly ventilated,

and if the clothes have not been dried, particularly if damp with perspiration, the air in the lockerroom will be extremely sickening, and, as stated, probably very unhealthy. With my improved locker and lockerv sys- .tem the/lockers and locker rooms are properly ventilated, vthe clothes and wearing apparel and other articles thoroughly dried, and if desired, disinfected, or deodorized, and in cold weather, when the clothes are dried even if extremely wet, the lockers and locker rooms are at the saine time heated.

The invention has broadly among its ob- -jects the production of a device of the kind convenient, duradescribed that is simple, ble, compact, eiiicient, eifective and satisfactory,` which will overcome the objections and disadvantages of the ordinary lockers and locker system and accomplish the improved results enumerated.

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts' herein My locker isy vsanitary conditions at his home.

shown and) described,

and more particularly pointed out in ther claims.

In the drawings, 'whereinlike reference characters indicate like or corresponding parts, Figure 1 is -a front elevation of several lockers; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 1s a sectional view taken Substantially on line 3, 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plan view of a portion of a locker room and wash house;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the same, lookingsubstantially from line k5,' 5 of Fig. 4:; Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially` on line 6, 6 of Fig. 7 ;"'Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view through several lockers, illustrating a slightly modified construction, and Fig.

substantially online 8, 8 of Fig. 7.

8 is a sectional view taken In the drawings, I have illustrated the llockers and locker system as applied to a locker and wash house, suitable for. coal mines ,or other similar industries. This particular industry is referred to, as it is one of the cases where the apparel stored in the -lockers is frequently wet or damp whenplaced in the locker, and sometimes very much soiled, and often needs disinfecting.

The miner hangs his wet or damp clothing in the locker, and unless some provision is made for drying .the clothes, the samewill be damp, if not wet, when he enters upon his next shift, tending to bring on rheumal and many tism, tuberculosis, pneumonia, other ills; or if provision is not made for the drying and. storing of his clothes, he may lwear them-home, thereby creating unof each individual locker, as this varies to themselves may be made of steel, wood or a considerable extent with the styles 0f the locker manufacturers, or the cosi-of construction of the larly to Figs. 1 to .3, I have-shown a series of lockers 1, each arranged in two` stacks back to back, with-the second series 2 arlocker. Referring particuas hereinafter of the doors.

ing of the s1des 3 formed .with backs 4, doors 5, and bottom 6, combined to and bottom 7, and top 8. The two stac s are separated so as to provide a distributing space 9, which is preferably closed at the bottom by the plate 10, at the top by plate 11, and at the endsby plates`12, it being understood that the plate 12 may be of suiicient size to form the sides of the :end lockers. Arranged at some suitable' place in each locker, preferably in the backs 4, are openings 16, and also arranged in the locker walls, as shown, in the` doors, are openings 17. The openings 17 may be formed by olfsetting portions 18, the same also serving as guards, the openings shown being in the form'of narrowv slits. I lhave preferably placed openings 16 near the tops of the backs, and the openings 17 near the bottom The main opening or inlet to the space 9 is formed by a pipe 19, or the equivalent, connected to suitable apparatus, set forth. The arrangement or positions, size and contour of openings 16 and 17 may be varied from the arrange- .y vment shown, that being only for illustration A24, suitably mounted on the door,

of one construction.

If desired, suitable means may be provided for varying the size of the openings 16, a very convenient construction being slides 20, having holes 21 arranged to register with holes 16. I have shown the slides arranged to be controlled at the exterior of the cabinet, so that all the openings in a series maybe controlled at one time. This is done in a simple manner by forming slides in one piece, and extending a portion of the saine to the exterior of the cabinet at one end, as at 22. y By shifting the slides 20 the admission of air through the openings 16 may be controlled as desired. I have .also shown means for 'controlling the passage of air from the lockers through the openings 17. For this purpose`I have shown a slide it being preferredmconstruction understood that any In the construction may be employed.

` shown, the slides are secured against movement by thumb screws 26, 'or the equivalent, extending through slots 25 in the front of the door. The doors 5 may,of course, be provided with .the usual locks,V hinges, and usual fixtures, not necessary to describe in detail. I have shown the lockers supported by the `vlegs 27, this being more sanitary than to have them Vsitting on the floor, as it prevents mice, rats, as well as bugs, collect- I ing under the lockers.

I have shown the lockers connected with the Ventilating, heating, drying and disinfecting apparatus by apipe-28', to which the pipes 19 extend. Pipe 28 is vshown connected i to: a fan 29, which is driven by a motor 35,

or equivalent means. An extending part 30 connects the fan with the part 31, which is connected `to the intake 32, arranged to take fresh air from the exterior of the plate. Heating pipes or coils 33 extend into the heating chamber 31, forming a simple means of heating the ingoing air. For disinfecting' purposes I haveshown a container 34, carrying a wick 36, which extends into the path of the ingoing air. Any disinfectant, deodorizer, or the like, may thus be dispensed and be taken up by the air. This form of dispenser is shown merely for'illustration,

'as any preferred type may be employed. Ventilators 39 may be arranged in the roof,

or other suitable part of the building. I have also shown valves or dampers'37 in the pipes 19 (see Fig. 5) for controlling the passage of the fluid, such as the air moving through the pipes. Referring particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown a slide 46 at the bottom of the space between the lockers, the same being provided with openings 48, arranged to register with openings 49 1n the bottom plate 10 when desired. The slide may be shifted by means of the shift rod '47, extending to the exterior of the lockers.

While these slides are not essential in most cases, and in others not desirable,- it provides an additional regulation that may at t1mes be convenient. Ordinarily the openings 49 are closed by the slide.

In operation, assuming that the lfan 1s driven so as totake air in through the intake 32, the same passes through the -parts 31 and 30 into the fan, being sufiiciently heated, and taking up the desired amount of disinfectant. The same is then pumped through pipe 28 and pipes 19 into the spaces 9 in theidii'erent stacks. It then passes 4through the opening 16, and into and through the lockers, and then out through openings 17, into the room; then passes through the ventilators 39 to the exterior of the building. This air being thoroughly warmed and carrying the desired disinfectant or deodorizer, thoroughly dries, disinfects and ventilates the llockers andthe contents, and then heats, ventilatesand disinfects the room. The amount'of air supplied, the disinfecting or the heating and drying may be controlled by the pump, heater and disinfector. The admission of the same to the lockers may be controlled by the dampers or valves 37, or slides 20, and it inay'be put under pressure in the lockers by adjusting the slides 24. Where any bank or series of lockers is not employed, -the slide 20 controlling the admission of air to that bank may be shut oil". thereby increasing the ilow of the other lockers. Likewise the openings 49 may be uncovered by shifting the slides 46. The air, or a portion of the same, may then escape without passing directly through the lockers. In this case, however, it heats the lockers to a considerable extent. Whilev the flow of air may at times be reversed, if so desired, the same is preferably circulated in the direction indicated.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 is substantially -identical with the forms of lockers shown in the other figures, but for the sake of clearness I have not embodied the Same in those igures. In this construction' the locker is designed to receive clothes that are extremely wet, and from which the water may drip for some time before drying. Referring to these two figures, the locker bottom 41 is preferably sloping, and'may be formed with grooves 42. It terminates in a discharge outlet 43, emptying into va discharge pipe 44. ThisCprevents the accumulation of water in the locker, and dripping of the same from around the door openings, or its leaking into adjacent lockers. This is not shown embodied in Figs. 2 and 3, for the reason stated, to-wit, to avoid confusion in1 these figures, and alsofor the additional reason that Where the clothing is not excessively wet, it need not be employed.

The construction herein shown and described, and the system of drying and disinfecting, has many advantages, among which maybe mentioned that it is not necessary to remove the clothing from the locker to dry the same, and the employees clothing being in the locker and locked, there is no chance for confusion among the property of different persons, and consequent loss either accidentally or by theft. The clothing is perfectly dried and most efficiently disinfected and deodorized. Any odors are ordinarily killed by thedisinfecta-nt and deodorizer in `aafew moments time, and by the pure air, which is a most efficient disinfectant. The damp air escapes through the lventilators 39, or their equivalents. With this system there is no question of the warm dry air reaching the clothing, nor of the same not being completely disinfected. Likewise the locker room may be kept at a comfortable temperature. The construction and system is most Aconvenient and economical in opera' tionis compact, and is secure and safe.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious 'that various immaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit. of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement or combination of parts herein shown and described, and use mentioned.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a locker system, the combination of a plurality of lockers suitably assembled` together with a heat distributing chamber arranged therebetween, each of said lockers having an opening connecting the interior of the same with said chamber, and provided with an opening through one of the exterior sides, and means for circulating heated air through said lockers from said chamber.

2. The combination in a locker system of a plurality of lockers arranged back to back with a space therebetween, said space closed about the lockers at the tops and the sides and bottoms thereof, each locker having an inlet opening connecting the interior of'the same with said space, and provided with a discharge opening through one of the exposed sides, and means for conducting a current of air to vsaid inclosed space controlling the passage therefrom Vthrough the several lockers at will.- v

3. The `combination in a locker house of the kind described of a plurality of lockers,

suitably assembled together, each comprisin suitable walls, said locker house provide C. T. HEwrrr, v F. C. ASHENBACH.

with an air intake and outlet, means for v 

